Pimentels bat for federalism, PH-style

We should adopt the system but adapt it in the local context.

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and his father, former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., on Thursday both pushed for the crafting of a “uniquely Filipino” model of federalism—one that would address the problematic concentration of power in Metro Manila and encourage development throughout the country while considering our cultural diversity.

Noting that centralized governance had hampered countryside development, both Pimentels said federalism would be a more suitable option for a country whose progress had long been stratified among local governments, its recent economic rise hardly felt in the fringe communities.

“We are in search of a unique Philippine model,” Koko Pimentel told reporters in an interview on Thursday.

The Senate president said the Philippines should look at the “best features” of the federal systems in other parts of the world to craft a system uniquely Filipino—from across Europe, North America, Australia, neighboring Malaysia, and “emerging federations” in South America and Africa.

“Federalism’s complex nature demands careful study. Scholars contend there is not one model in the world that fits all. Each country must discern its own version of federalism according to peculiar conditions in its society,” said the younger Pimentel in a keynote speech at a federalism forum in the Senate on Thursday.

“Therefore it is important to learn from the experiences—whether good or bad—of existing federations,” he added.

The federalism forum was held days after a Pulse Asia survey showed that public opinion was not convincingly for amending the Constitution in order to shift to a federal system—44 percent of respondents were in favor of Charter change, while 37 percent were against it. Tarra Quismundo